Michael Douglas on aging, comedy and ‘Kominsky’
Getting older ‘not exactly a belly laugh,’ he says
It’s a love story of sorts: The friendship that bonds acting teacher Sandy Kominsky (Michael Douglas) and his best friend and agent Norman Newlander (Alan Arkin) is at the center of “The Kominsky Method,” a new halfhour Netflix comedy series from Chuck Lorre.
In a departure from Lorre’s bestknown creations – from “Grace Under Fire,” “Cybill” and “Dharma & Greg” to “Two and a Half Men,” “Mom,” “Mike & Molly” and TV’s top-rated comedy “The Big Bang Theory” – “Kominsky” is personal, a geezer comedy that offers melancholy reflections on growing old, losing a spouse, wayward children and lost dreams.
“The aging process is not exactly a big belly laugh,” says Douglas, 74, who’s a decade younger than 84-year-old Arkin. But “I love the tragicomedy area. A lot of the stuff I liked doing most was (movies) ‘Falling Down’ and ‘Wonder Boys.’ I was always attracted to that area. The chance to do comedy, which is not necessarily what I’m not known for or comes easily to me, was a learning process and a chance to learn more about timing.”
It’s also his first regular TV role since the 1970s, when Douglas, then 27, was cast opposite Karl Malden on ABC’s “The Streets of San Francisco.”
The eight-episode first season, out Friday, reveals Sandy as “an extremely successful acting teacher, but the other parts of his life are not quite as successful,” Douglas says. He’s a three-time divorcee, and can’t find work as an actor. (In a late episode, Norman describes the “method” that Sandy uses to teach his attentive young pupils as “a how-to for what never was.”)
He owes the IRS, battles reverse-mortgage hucksters while imbibing his favorite beverage, Jack Daniel’s and Dr Pepper, and like many a senior, is sad- dled with ailments and erectile-dysfunction jokes.
“Part of the joy of this is, the friendship of the two supports them through trials and tribulations of what they’re going through with family and money and health and loss,” says Lorre.
Why was Douglas the right guy to play Sandy? “Because I said yes!” he jokes in a joint sitdown with Lorre, 66, whose first Netflix series, Kathy Bates’ “Disjointed,” was canceled after one season.
“It was a combination of his ability to do comedy, as well as the gravitas of the role,” Lorre says. “And there’s a dynamic between him and Alan that’s quite wonderful. One of those paradigm relationships between two men.”
They’re joined by Nancy Travis (“Last Man Standing”), a love interest for Sandy; Ann-Margret, as a widow who has an interest in Norman, Jay Leno, Elliott Gould, Patti LaBelle and Danny DeVito as Sandy’s urologist, who’s the perfect height for a prostate exam.
More than anything, it’s a love letter to the craft of acting.
“It’s a strange profession,” Lorre says. “I’ve gotten to see extraordinary actors and appreciate what they do, especially in front of an audience. I wanted to pay homage to the craft.”